KATHMANDU, MARCH 25

The government has formed a committee to investigate the death of Padam Limbu Lajehang and loss of property during the recent protest in Biratnagar. The agitators were demonstrating against the naming of Province 1 as Koshi.

The six-member committee headed by the home ministry's Joint-secretary Ram Bandhu Subedi will also hold talks with the agitating forces that are staging protest in Biratnagar and various other cities in eastern Nepal.

Recently, multiple clashes have erupted between security personnel and protesters under the banner of Province Naming Joint Struggle Committee.

Various identity-based organisations representing mostly indigenous Limbu and Rai communities had staged a stern protest against the province government's decision to name it as Koshi Province. They had long been demanding that its name should represent their identity as a symbol of respect for people of aboriginal communities living in the area.

As the protest intensified on March 19, Armed Police Force personnel fired four rounds of bullets in the air and around 24 shells of tear gas to disburse the protesters and stop them from entering the prohibited area.

Police had allegedly baton-charged protesters, wherein 42-year-old Padam Limbu Lajehang of Bajhgara Ward no 15 of Dharan sustained head injuries. Limbu, a central co-commander of Limbu Limbuwan Volunteers, a youth wing of Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch, was undergoing treatment at home. However, after a few days, he fell unconscious and was taken to BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences where he succumbed to injuries yesterday at 2:00am. Following his death, the agitating side held discussion with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his residence in Baluwatar this morning. Leaders representing Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities, Kirat Rai Yayokkha, Kirat Yakthum Chumlung, Sanghiya Loktantrik Rastriya Manch and Sherpa Association of Nepal held discussion with PM Dahal regarding the incident.

Government spokesperson and Minister of Information and Communications Rekha Sharma, chief secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and Home Secretary Binod Prakash Singh had attended the meeting.

Minister Sharma said PM Dahal had shown serious concern about the incident. She also said PM Dahal had asked the agitating side to withdraw the protest and come for peaceful talks to find a possible solution and address their key demands.

A version of this article appears in the print on March 26, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.